The skeletons continue to attack Boland and Brashen. One of them again manages to penetrate Brashen’s defenses, striking him a bruising blow with its mace .
"They are fighting undead," says Andolphas to the inquisitor. "I recognize the spell Boland just cast. Damion, see if you can find and help Harrigan -- I'll aid the others!"
The priest hustles through the darkness until he stands within fifteen feet of Boland, Brashen and their assailants. He holds his ruby skull high, and calls out: "restless dead, this servant of the Dark-Eyed Lady compels ye, depart this Oerth forever and return to your eternal slumber!"
Boland, Brashen and Damion sense a a wave of benevolent energy momentarily pass through them without effect... and then see the bones of the undead start to smoulder and break apart.
Brash lets out a roar as the skeleton hits him again, and swings his axe once more at the thing, shattering bones.
Between them Brashen and Andolphas (through the grace of his goddess) make short work of the remaining skeletons. With no other enemies immediately apparent (apart from the guards still up at the top of the lift shaft), Brash sags under the weight of his numerous wounds.
Damion rushes after the priest, crossbow in hand, and surveys the area. "Let us get to cover in case those miners topside decide to shower us with more stones."
He motions for the others to get further from the shaft.
Damion rushes after the priest, crossbow in hand, and surveys the area. "Let us get to cover in case those miners topside decide to shower us with more stones."
He motions for the others to get further from the shaft.
"I need to recover my armour," grumbles the priest. He waits for Harrigan to rejoin the party, then gives thanks to the Ruby Sorceress and Green Lady before uttering another prayer. His companions feel a wave of benevolent energy washing over them, healing some of their wounds.
Andolphas then begins to hustle back to the shaft in order to recover his armour.
Boland sighs in relief as Andolphas arrives and calls on the power of the Green Lady to destroy the remaining skeletons.
'Thanks Andolphas, and thank the Green Lady,' he adds, clutching briefly at his holy symbol. He repeats his thanks when the healing effects of the spell wash over the group.
He reaches into his pack and finds the healing potion he had been searching for earlier, offering it to Brashen.
'Here; it looks like you need this more than me. Well, I guess any pretence of stealth has probably been lost. Should we continue down the shaft?'
Harrigan kneels by the hall where the skeletons came marching and begins scooping up his caltrops back into their bag. "How many coming down the lift? I'd jam it, but I have an idea they are gonna be down here before I can stop them. We want to take them out and lock down the lift? That'd keep them from piling in the reinforcements with ease. It's either that or we make ourselves scarce. Either way- I think we are fighting our way out unless we can find another exit or a damn good disguise."
"Do they have a way to pull the lift back up to them? Perhaps it's stuck there half-way and will take some time to retrieve? They could take the stairs, but that will take them some time..."
"If we jam the chain at the bottom of the lift, they will be forced to come down by the stairs, something they may not be willing to try. At the least it might buy us some extra time."
He turns to Harrigan. "The ones with the bows were human's, right? We could don their clothes. In the poor light it could garner an advantage?"
"I agree, let's jam the chain -- the mechanism is close to the spot where I left my armour," says Andolphas as he heads in that direction. "And I suppose I could swap a miner's disguise for a cultist or mercenary's... the Dark-Eyed Lady forgive me..."
"Right, probably best we stay together then," he says, following Andolphas over towards the shaft and warily looking up as they near it. He looks around the base for something to jam the chain with, possibly something carried by the guards there that Brash had cut down.
Boland makes his way back over to the elevator shaft scaffolding in the light of the helmet lamps and Damion’s light spell
The massive chain rattles and clanks, inching slowly about in fits and jerks as it is tugged from above. The dismembered bodies of the two humanoids that Brashen killed lie nearby, as does a bundle of Andolphas’s armour.
Andolphas jams the hilt of one of the dead men's great axes through a chain link in a manner that he hopes will jam the mechanism.
He then removes his helmet and poncho, drops his backpack gently on the ground, and starts donning his chain shirt.
Andolphas jams the long axe haft between opposing links of the slow moving chain, and the whole mechanism grinds to a halt. It appears that the well crafted axe will hold for some time.
Harrigan takes a moment to kneel down and examine one of the guards while stripping him of any coin or valuables, "Red skin, sharp teeth... what the hell are these guys? Demon blood?"
Harrigan, you’ve seen people something like these before on occasion, in Greyhawk, even one or two in the town up above. These are humans with some sort of fiendish taint in their blood, creatures sometimes called planetouched, hellspawn or tieflings.
As well as their subtle fiendish features, these guys are all covered in tattoos depicting various blasphemous looking symbols, vicious looking weapons and scenes of battle and torture.
The bells were indeed attached to the skeletons – the ringing has now stopped.
Once Andolphas has finished donning his chain shirt, he notices how badly wounded Brashen is, he offers the warrior two of the four flasks that are tucked in his belt pouch. "Take, these, if you would, Brashen. I could channel the divine energy of the lady to heal all of us, but since we may encounter the Spawns of Kyuss before long, I think it would be wiser for me to reserve what powers I have for any encounters we have with them... there is no telling how many we will face..."
"Where to next? Down the passage from which the undead came?" He looks down at the slain tieflings. "I can only guess what new devilry we'll find where there... We've already had our share of surprises in this old mine," grumbles the priest as he glances at Harrigan.
"Andolphas, once you are armored and have done what you can for Brashen's wounds, I suggest we investigate that passage which the skeletons came from. Perhaps we'll discover their creator that way as well," the inquisitor states evenly, glancing up the shaft at the suspended platform with a frown.
"Preservation of your energies is wise, cleric. There may indeed be legions of undead lying in wait for us."
The Pholtan narrows his eyes and scans the dark chamber carefully while the others prepare to move out.
Brash takes a steadying breath as the combat ends and some of the adrenaline of the fight starts to fade away. I died… I basically died The big man shakes his head, trying to still the trembling of his limbs as that thought sets in. As his wounds are healed his nerves start to settle, and he nods his thanks to those who provide him with healing and help, but is unusually quiet for the first few minutes after the battle ends.
Brash finally speaks up. 'Well, lets move on I suppose. Should we see if there are any other exits from this chamber or go straight to the door the skeletons were guarding?'
The symbology is mainly associated with the worship of the tyrannical god Hextor. However, there are also a number of symbols depicting black triangles, often associated with the symbol of Hextor.
You have heard of a cult that appears to have sprung up (or come to notice) in recent years known as The Ebon Triad, dedicated to merging the gods Hextor, Vecna, and Erythnul into a mighty Overgod.
Adherents to the doctrine of the Ebon Triad clutch close their secrets even from other worshipers of Hextor, Erythnul, and Vecna, who consider them heretics. In fact, word of the heresy, other than vague rumours, has not spread far from these three churches, whose Inquisitors keep accounts of Ebon Triad activities brutally suppressed lest the cult gain more converts.
---
Damion, you detect a faint, lingering aura of evil. It doesn’t appear to emanate from the recently destroyed skeletons and outsiders – their weak auras have already dissipated – rather it seems to seep from the ancient stones that make up the walls and floor, and the very air itself in this chamber.
"These men appear to be members of a cult known as the Ebon Triad, a radical group devoted to the principle of merging Hextor, Vecna, and Erythnul into a single, more powerful entity. The very air in this place reeks of evil. I suspect we are close to some great dark force here. Be on your guard."
With that, the inquisitor punctuates his statement by bringing his heavy crossbow up and locking a bolt in place.
Harrigan's expression when the Inquisitor explains the tattoos is grim, but whatever he is thinking he keeps it to himself. "The lift is about as secure as we can make it without destroying it. Do that and we might find ourselves ourselves trapped down here. Its time to get a move on. Suppose you could swap out the miner disguise for these cultists clothes, but there ain't enough to go around and they aren't going to fit me. Little too skinny for your average handsome bearded man's man." He winks at that though it might be lost in the low lighting. "It is a thought though kid," he nods to Boland.
We could take the tunnel the skeletons were guarding, but I'm going to bet it is the fastest path to another throw down. Might be able to learn something if we work our way in around the edges instead of charging right into the heart of it. What do you say?"
"There is some wisdom in your suggestion, dwarf. It is very likely that these bell-laden skeletons were some kind of early warning system to alert others deeper within the caverns of intruders. The direct approach could very well land us in front of a fully prepared defensive formation. If there is indeed another entrance to be found, by all means, let us find it."
Brash nods. 'Lets go then. We can start at the passage to the door and work our way around. If we don't find any other entrances we end back at the door and continue through.'
Brash will lead the way around the cavern to the left of the passage if those holding the light sources are ready to continue.
A general consensus having been reached, the group heads north, following the eastern wall of this large chamber, a row of enormous columns looming out from the darkness to the left.
About seventy feet or so north of the passage and the elevator shaft, further progress north is blocked by a hewn stone wall, seemingly the northern extent of this vast underground chamber.
Brashen, in the lead, turns to follow this wall along to the west. After walking another sixty or seventy feet, an archway opens up in the north wall, and a short passage extends about thirty feet to the north, ending at a closed set of double doors.
No, none of them wear a holy symbol as such (beyond the symbols printed on their tabards and tattooed into their flesh).
Boland had followed Andolphas' lead and donned the robes of the cultists. He nods as Harrigan points out the flaws in the plan but decides to leave them on for the moment - perhaps they will come in handy. He also agrees with the consensus to not head straight down the passage way but look for an alternate entry, and falls into line with the others, keepingthe sunrod handy in case they need light in a hurry.
Brash marks the position of this passage as best he can in the gloom of the large chamber then moves on. 'Lets see if there are any other ways off.'
As he walks he keeps an ear out for any movement from the lift
Brashen continues to lead the way, leaving the north passage alone for now. After another sixty, seventy feet or so, the north wall ends where it meets another wall running south (ie, this new wall is the western wall of the large chamber). Brashen turns south to follow this wall.
A brief walk of another seventy feet or so brings the group to an arched opening in the west wall, with a passage beyond it running in a roughly westerly direction – but where the walls and floor of the main chamber and the side passages encountered prior to this one are of worked stone, this western passage past the archway appears to be a largely natural tunnel through the rock.
The main chamber stretches off into the darkness to the south.
"Ugh... I hope I never again have to don the bloody robes of a dead heretic. But with this chainmail mask, they might help us infiltrate some other areas of the complex."
A few dozen feet to the south of the western side passage (still following the western wall of the main chamber around), the rough hewn stone floor underfoot gives way to a paved floor of smooth, black marble tiles. The chamber opens out into a circular plan, and the walls are carved with abstract yet slightly disturbing patterns.
Some investigation reveals a large pool of still dark liquid in about the centre of this space. An aura of uncomfortable cold fills the air around the pool. A stairway carved into the curved southern wall of the chamber around the pool ascends to a platform thirty feet above the pool’s surface.
This appears to be the southern extent of the cavern. Cutting east past the pool, then following the east wall back in a northerly direction brings you back to the remains of the skeletons and the passage leading east.
As the group reaches the circular chamber, Andolphas touches his hand to the ruby skull that hangs from his neck and whispers a prayer to the Dark-Eyed Lady.
Andolphas detects a magical aura. After a few moments of concentration he confirms that it is quite a strong aura, seeming to originate from the liquid in the pool.
"Beware, my friends... I sense strong conjuration and evocation magic coming from the pool. And in a place like this, I doubt it will be benign..."
'Then let us leave here, I don't see much of a way forward in a pool of water anyway. So where too? One of the doors or the passage to the west?'